Process for preparing substituted pentacenes

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a process of preparing substituted pentacenes, to novel pentacenes prepared by this process, to the use of the novel pentacenes as semiconductors or charge transport materials in optical, electrooptical or electronic devices including field effect transistors (FETs), electroluminescent, photovoltaic and sensor devices, and to FETs and other semiconducting components or materials comprising the novel pentacenes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a process for preparing substituted pentacenes,and to novel pentacenes prepared by this process. The invention furtherrelates to the use of the novel pentacenes as semiconductors or chargetransport materials in optical, electrooptical or electronic devicesincluding field effect transistors (FETs), electroluminescent,photovoltaic and sensor devices. The invention further relates to FETsand other semiconducting components or materials comprising the novelpentacenes.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

In recent years, there has been development of organic semiconductingmaterials in order to produce more versatile, lower cost electronicdevices. Such materials find application in a wide range of devices orapparatus, including organic field effect transistors (OFETs), organiclight emitting diodes (OLEDs), photodetectors, photovoltaic (PV) cells,sensors, memory elements and logic circuits to name just a few. Theorganic semiconducting materials are typically present in the electronicdevice in the form of a thin layer, for example less than 1 micronthick.

Pentacene has shown promise as an organic semiconducting material.Pentacene has been described as requiring a highly crystalline structurein order to provide a molecular orientation which results in good chargemobility. Thus, in the prior art, thin films of pentacene have beenvapour deposited, due in part to the fact that pentacene is ratherinsoluble in common solvents. However, vapour deposition requiresexpensive and sophisticated equipment. In view of the latter problem,one approach has been to apply a solution containing a precursorpentacene and then chemically converting, for example by heat, theprecursor compound into pentacene. However, the latter method is alsocomplex and it is difficult to control in order to obtain the necessaryordered structure for good charge mobility.

Soluble pentacene compounds comprising silylethynyl groups, like6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)pentacene have recently been described inthe prior art as organic semiconducting compounds [1,2]. This compoundexhibits high performance as the semiconducting layer in an organicfield-effect transistor (OFET), with mobility of 0.4 cm²/Vs and currenton/off ratio of 10⁶ measured [3]. Meanwhile, significant work has beenundertaken by various groups to design and prepare soluble pentacenematerials that offer even higher performance in terms of semiconductingproperties, and that also show enhanced processability and environmentalstability.

However, the properties of the bis(silylethynyl)pentacenes described inprior art still leave room for further improvement. For example,pentacene type molecules degrade in the presence of air and light due toa photooxidation process [21,22].

One aim of the present invention was to provide further pentacenecompounds that are useful as organic semiconducting materials.

In prior art 6,13-bis(trialkylsilylethynyl)pentacenes with additionalsubstituents in 1-, 2-, 3-, 8-, 9-, 10- and/or 11-position are disclosed[23].

By adding substituents in these positions, which are prone to theabove-described photo-oxidation process, it is possible to hinder thedegradation. This leads to polyacenes that are useful as chargetransport and semiconducting materials and have improved solubility andcharge carrier mobility and improved stability especially against air,heat and light. Furthermore, when these substituted polyacenes areprovided in a formulation together with an organic binder, improvedsemiconducting materials with good processibility are obtained which dostill show a surprisingly high charge carrier mobility.

The inventors of the present invention have now found that especiallypentacenes with substituents in 1-, 4-, 8- and 11-position dounexpectedly show high charge carrier mobility, good solubility instandard organic solvents, and good processibility.

However, it was also found that such substituted pentacenes aredifficult to synthesize. Generally, pentacene ring-network precursorshave previously been constructed using either the Aldol condensation [4]or the Cava reaction [5]. However, the inventors have found that for1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted 6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl) pentacene boththe Aldol and Cava methodologies yield little success in constructingthe pentacene ring-network precursors in high and reproducible yields.Therefore a more successful alternative method is high desirable.

Thus, another aim of the present invention was to find an improvedsynthesis method for 1,4,8,11-substituted pentacenes. Other aims of thepresent invention are immediately evident to the expert from thefollowing detailed description.

It was now found that these aims can be achieved by providing methodsand materials as claimed in the present invention. In particular, thisinvention relates to a new synthetic route to prepare1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted pentacene, which circumvents the key drawbacksof the previous routes based around the Aldol condensation or the Cavareaction. Furthermore, it provides novel 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstitutedpentacenes with improved properties, especially high charge carriermobility, high solubility and good processibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a process for preparing a1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted pentacene comprising the following steps

-   a1) reduction of a 4,7-disubstituted isobenzofuran-1,3-dione (2) in    the presence of a reducing agent to form the 4,7-disubstituted    3H-isobenzofuran-1-one (4),-   or-   a2) oxidation of a 1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-disubstituted    benzene (3) in the presence of an oxidizing agent to form a    4,7-disubstituted 3H-isobenzofuran-1-one (4),-   or-   a3) oxidation of a 1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-disubstituted    benzene (3) in the presence of an oxidizing agent to form a    4,7-disubstituted 1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran (5a), and, in    case of step a1) or step a2),-   b) reduction of the product (4) of step a1) or a2) in the presence    of a reducing agent to form a 4,7-disubstituted    1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran (5a),-   and-   c) methylation of the product (5a) of step a3) or b) to form a    4,7-disubstituted 1-methoxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran (5b),-   d) elimination of the product (5b) of step c) in the presence of a    base to form a 4,7-disubstituted isobenzofuran (6),-   e) reacting the product (6) of step d) with p-benzoquinone by    Diels-Alder cycloaddition to form a bis-cycloadduct (7),-   f) dehydration of the product (7) of step e) in the presence of a    base to form a 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted 6,13-pentacenequinone (8),-   g) alkynation of the product (8) of step f) with a monosubstituted    metal acetylide to form a 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted    6,13-bis(1-substituted ethynyl)pentacene (9).

The invention further relates to novel substituted pentacenes, inparticular novel 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted 6,13-bis(1-substitutedethynyl) pentacenes, obtainable or obtained by a process as describedabove and below.

The invention further relates to a semiconductor or charge transportmaterial, component or device comprising one or more substitutedpentacenes as described above and below.

The invention further relates to a formulation comprising one or morecompounds according to the present invention and one or more solvents,preferably selected from organic solvents.

The invention further relates to an organic semiconducting formulationcomprising one or more compounds of formula I, one or more organicbinders, or precursors thereof, preferably having a permittivity ∈ at1,000 Hz of 3.3 or less, and optionally one or more solvents.

The invention further relates to the use of compounds and formulationsaccording to the present invention as charge transport, semiconducting,electrically conducting, photoconducting or light emitting material inan optical, electrooptical, electronic, electroluminescent orphotoluminescent components or devices.

The invention further relates to a charge transport, semiconducting,electrically conducting, photoconducting or light emitting material orcomponent comprising one or more compounds or formulations according tothe present invention.

The invention further relates to an optical, electrooptical, electronic,electroluminescent or photoluminescent component or device comprisingone or more compounds or formulations according to the presentinvention.

Said components and devices include, without limitation, electroopticaldisplays, LCDs, optical films, retarders, compensators, polarisers, beamsplitters, reflective films, alignment layers, colour filters,holographic elements, hot stamping foils, coloured images, decorative orsecurity markings, LC pigments, adhesives, non-linear optic (NLO)devices, optical information storage devices, electronic devices,organic semiconductors, organic field effect transistors (OFET),integrated circuits (IC), thin film transistors (TFT), Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) tags, organic light emitting diodes (OLED),organic light emitting transistors (OLET), electroluminescent displays,organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, organic solar cells (O-SC), organiclaser diodes (O-laser), organic integrated circuits (O-IC), lightingdevices, sensor devices, electrode materials, photoconductors,photodetectors, electrophotographic recording devices, capacitors,charge injection layers, Schottky diodes, planarising layers, antistaticfilms, conducting substrates, conducting patterns, photoconductors,electrophotographic applications, electrophotographic recording, organicmemory devices, biosensors, biochips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the Aldol route for the preparation of tetrasubstitutedpentacenes.

FIG. 2 shows the Cava route for the preparation of tetrasubstitutedpentacenes.

FIG. 3 exemplarily shows the process according to the present inventionfor the preparation of tetrasubstituted pentacenes.

FIG. 4 shows a method for preparing the starting materials for theprocess according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 exemplarily shows a bottom gate OFET according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 exemplarily shows a top gate OFET according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 shows the characteristics of an OFET device according to Example2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new synthetic route to prepare1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted pentacene whereby the pentacene ring-networkprecursor is constructed using a Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactioninvolving an isobenzofuran intermediate. The invention further relatesto novel substituted pentacenes with improved properties.

One preferred compound that exhibits improved semiconducting propertiesis 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)pentacene. Whenusing this compound in the semiconducting layer of an OFET device, amobility of 6 cm²/Vs is measured.

Each of the synthetic routes for preparing substituted pentacenesaccording to prior art, which are based around the Aldol condensation orthe Cava reaction, has certain drawbacks.

For example, FIG. 1 exemplarily shows the Aldol route known from priorart, which has here been adapted to the synthesis of1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)pentacene.

The reagents used for the process steps of FIG. 1 are as follows: i.Et₂O; ii. conc. H₂SO₄; iii. LiAlH₄, THF; iv. DMSO, (COCl)₂, Et₃N, DCM;v. 1,4-cyclohexadione, 5% KOH, IMS; vi. triethylsilyl-acetylene, n-BuLi,Et₂O, THF; vii. SnCl₂, 10% HCl.

In this method, the problem is that isolation of the dicarboxyaldehydeintermediate, like e.g. 3,6-dimethylbenzene-1,2-bis(carboxyaldehyde), isnot possible. A variety of oxidation methods to obtain thedicarboxyaldehyde intermediate from the diol,3,6-dimethylbenzene-1,2-bis(methanol), have been tested. Some oxidationmethods (using manganese(IV) oxide or pyridinium chlorochromate) resultin the formation of the lactone product,4,7-dimethyl-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one, which cannot be further reacted inthe Aldol condensation step. Whereas the Swern oxidation (using dimethylsulfoxide/oxalyl chloride) yields a complex product that cannot beclearly identified by proton NMR spectroscopy. This complex product whenreacted in the Aldol condensation step does however yield thepentacenequinone product, and so the dicarboxyaldehyde must have beenregenerated from this complex product under these conditions. However,the yield is low and the reaction suffers from poor reproducibility.

FIG. 2 exemplarily shows the Cava route known from prior art, which hashere been adapted to the synthesis of1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)pentacene.

The reagents used for the process steps of FIG. 2 are as follows: i.Et₂O; ii. conc. H₂SO₄; iii. LiAlH₄, THF; iv. PBr₃, Et₂O; v.p-benzoquinone, KI, DMF; vi. triethylsilyl-acetylene, n-BuLi, Et₂O, THF;vii. SnCl₂, 10% HCl.

Here, the problem is that reaction between the bis(bromomethyl)intermediate and p-benzoquinone to form the pentacenequinone productgives very low yields.

The inventors of the present invention have found an alternative routeto 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted pentacene. In the literature there is anisolated report of the synthesis of pentacenequinone via a Diels-Alderreaction between isobenzofuran and p-benzoquinone under acidicconditions [6]. Therefore, it was envisaged that by preparing theappropriate isobenzofuran derivative and reacting it withp-benzoquinone, the pentacenequinone product can be prepared. However,the required 4,7-disubstituted isobenzofuran derivatives (like4,7-dimethyl-isobenzofuran) have not been previously prepared, nor hastheir reaction with p-benzoquinone been reported.

A preferred process of the present invention is exemplarily illustratedin FIG. 3 for the preparation of1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-6,13-bis(trialkylsilyl-ethynyl) pentacene 9. Thereagents used in the process steps shown in FIG. 3 are as follows: a1)NaBH₄, THF or Zn, HOAc; a2) MnO₂, DCM; a3) 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX);b) DiBAL, toluene, Et₂O; c) BF₃.OEt₂, MeOH; d) n-BuLi, i-Pr₂NH,petroleum ether 40-60; e) p-benzoquinone, THF; f) NaOAc, MeOH; g) 1.trialkylsilyl-acetylene (e.g. wherein R is ethyl), n-BuLi, Et₂O, THF; 2.SnCl₂, 10% HCl.

The process according to FIG. 3 is explained in detail below. However,the educts and the reagents and exact reaction conditions for each stepmay be varied by the skilled person based on general knowledge.

Preparation of the Educts (2) and (3):

The synthesis of the two starting materials, i.e. the 4,7-disubstitutedisobenzofuran-1,3-dione (2) used in step a1) and the1,2-bis(hydroxy-methyl)-3,6-disubstituted benzene (3) used in step a2)or a3), has already been reported in the literature 3.[7] The steps area Diels-Alder reaction,[7,8] an acid-catalysed dehydration of theresultant cycloadduct 1,[7,8] and a reduction of the anhydride 2 to thediol 3.[7,9].

Thus, a preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to aprocess as described above and below, wherein the educt (2) of step a1)and the educt (3) of steps a2) and a3) are prepared by the followingsteps:

-   x1) reacting 2,5-disubstituted furan with maleic anhydride by    Diels-Alder cycloaddition to form a cycloadduct (1),-   x2) dehydrating the product (1) of step x1) in the presence of an    acid to form a 4,7-disubstituted isobenzofuran-1,3-dione (2),-   and, in case of preparing (3),-   x3) reduction of the product (2) of step x2) in the presence of a    hydride reagent to form 1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-disubstituted    benzene (3).

FIG. 4 shows a preferred method for preparing (2) and (3). The startingmaterials 2,5-dimethylfuran and maleic anhydride are both commerciallyavailable. The reagents used in the process steps shown in FIG. 4 are asfollows: x1) Et₂O; x2) conc. H₂SO₄; x3) LiAlH₄, THF.

Step a1): Reduction to 4,7-Dimethyl-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one 4

Anhydride 2 can be selectively reduced to the lactone 4 by two methods.Firstly, the reduction is effected by the use of a more selectivereducing agent, which is preferably a hydride agent like for examplesodium borohydride.[10] Alternatively, using a modified Yang-Zhureduction[11] as described by Rainbolt et al, [12] anhydride 2 isreduced using zinc in acetic acid at 100° C. to yield the lactone 4.

Preferred reducing reagents include for example NaBH₄, Zn—HOAc, H₂—Pt,or RuCl₂(PPh₃)₂. Preferred solvents for this step include for exampleTHF, dioxane, acetic acid, alcohol. The reaction temperature can bevaried depending on the solvent and the reagents. Suitable temperaturesare e.g. 23° C., 70° C. 90° C., or 100° C.

Step a2): Oxidation to prepare 4,7-Dimethyl-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one 4

From the previously reported diol 3,[7,9] the next step is an oxidationusing an oxidising agent, like e.g. manganese(IV) oxide, based upon themethod of Hirano et al who prepared 3H-isobenzofuran-1-one with thismethod.[13] Preferably, a large excess of oxidizing agent is employed,typically 10 equivalents, in order for complete conversion to thedesired lactone product 4. If lower quantities of oxidizing agent areused, a mixture of lactone and lactol products is obtained.

Preferred oxidising agents include for example manganese(IV) oxide orpyridinium chlorochromate. Preferred solvents for this step include forexample DCM or alcohols. The reaction temperature can be varieddepending on the solvent and the reagents. Suitable temperatures aree.g. 23° C., 40° C. or 70° C.

Step a3): Oxidation to prepare1-Hydroxy-4,7-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran 5a

Diol 3 can be selectively oxidized to the lactol 5a using the methoddescribed by Corey et al which employs 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) as theoxidizing agent.[16] Typically for 1,4-diols like 3, further oxidationto the lactone does not occur to a significant degree.[16]

Preferred oxidizing agents include for example 2-iodoxybenzoic acid(IBX). Preferred solvents for this step include for example DMSO. Thereaction temperature can be varied depending on the solvent and thereagents. A suitable temperature is e.g. 23° C.

Steps b), c): Reduction and methylation to prepare1-Methoxy-4,7-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran 5b

Lactone 4 is selectively reduced to the lactol 5a in the presence of areducing agent, following the method described by Rainbolt et al whichuses diisobutylaluminium hydride at −60° C.,[12] also known as Rodrigo'sconditions.[14] After isolation, the lactol 5a is reacted with amethylation agent, like e.g. methanol, in the presence of a a Lewis acidcatalyst, like e.g. boron trifluoride diethyl etherate, to yield themethylated lactol 5b, following the method of Man et al who prepared1-methoxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran in this manner[15]

Preferred reducing agents for step b) include for examplediisobutylaluminium hydride. Preferred solvents for step b) include forexample DCM, Et₂O, toluene or mixtures thereof. The reaction temperaturein step b) can be varied depending on the solvent and the reagents.Suitable temperatures are e.g. −78° C. or −60° C.

Preferred methylation reagents for step c) include for exampleBF₃.OEt₂-MeOH. Preferred solvents for step c) include for examplemethanol. The reaction temperature in step c) can be varied depending onthe solvent and the reagents. Suitable temperatures are e.g. 0° C. or23° C.

Steps d), e): Formation of 4,7-dimethyl-isobenzofuran 6 and Diels-Alderreaction to prepare1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-5,14,7,12-diepoxy-5,7,12,14-octahydropentacene-6,13-dione7

From the methylated lactol 5b, the critical isobenzofuran intermediate,4,7-dimethyl-isobenzofuran 6, is formed by treatment with lithiumdiisopropylamide in an analogous manner to that reported by Naito andRickborn for the preparation of isobenzofuran.[17] A method of formingisobenzofuran from 2-(dimethoxymethyl)benzyl alcohol under acidicconditions has also been reported by Smith and Dibble[6] lsobenzofuran 6is relatively stable and there are reports on the stability of similarderivatives,[18] nevertheless isobenzofuran 6 is kept in dilute solutionrather than concentrated to dryness, and is used in the subsequentDiels-Alder reaction as rapidly as possible. In the Diels-Alderreaction, isobenzofuran 6 is reacted with p-benzoquinone to yield thebis-cycloadduct 7. Unlike the report of Dibble and Smith where acidicconditions are used,[6] in the present invention the product isolatedstill contains the epoxy bridges and has not undergone dehydration toyield the pentacenequinone product.

Preferred reagents for step d) include for example lithiumdiisopropylamide. Preferred solvents for step d) include for examplepetroleum distillates. The reaction temperature in step d) can be varieddepending on the solvent and the reagents. Suitable temperatures aree.g. 0° C. or 23° C.

The preferred reactant for step e) is p-benzoquinone. Preferred solventsfor step e) include for example petroleum distillates-THF. The reactiontemperature in step e) can be varied depending on the solvent and thereagents. Suitable temperatures are e.g. 23° C. or 70° C.

Step f): Dehydration to prepare1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-6,13-pentacenequinone 8

In order to remove the epoxy bridges to form the pentacenequinone 8,bis-cycloadduct 7 is dehydrated under mildly basic conditions usingsodium acetate in methanol in an similar manner to that reported by Wonget al.[14] It has been found that, when the reaction is performed in amicrowave-reactor, at temperatures above the boiling point of thesolvent (160° C.), high conversion to product can be obtained in shortreactions time (5 mins), as opposed to prolonged reaction times atreflux temperature. Efforts to carry this dehydration out under acidicconditions using concentrated sulphuric acid at 0° C.[8] andconcentrated hydrochloric acid in refluxing methanol[20] were bothunsuccessful.

Preferred reagents for step f) include for example NaOAc. Preferredsolvents for step f) include for example methanol. The reactiontemperature in step f) can be varied depending on the solvent and thereagents. Suitable temperatures are e.g. 70° C. or higher temperatures

Step g) Alkynation and aromatisation to prepare1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-6,13-bis(trialkylsilylethynyl)pentacene 9

Finally, the alkynation of pentacenequinone 8 is performed by reactionwith lithium trialkylsilylacetylide (e.g. wherein alkyl is ethyl),formed in-situ from trialkylsilylacetylene and n-butyllithium, in ananalogous manner to that described by Anthony and co-workers.[5] Theintermediate species is then treated with an acidified saturated aqueoussolution of tin(II) chloride to afford the final product material,1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-6,13-bis(trialkylsilylethynyl)pentacene 9, in ananalogous manner to that described by Anthony and co-workers.[4]Alternatively, arylacetylene moieties can be introduced into thepentacene species by reaction of pentacenequinone 8 with lithiumarylacetylide, formed in-situ from arylacetylene and n-butyllithium, inan analogous manner to that described by Anthony and co-workers.[5]

Preferred reagents for step g) include for example:n-BuLi-trialkylsilylacetylene (e.g. n-BuLi-triethylsilylacetylene,n-BuLi-triisopropylacetylene) and n-BuLi-arylacetylene (e.g.n-BuLi-4-alkyl- or alkoxyphenylacetylene, n-BuLi-2,5-dialkyl- ordialkoxyphenylacetylene, n-BuLi-2,4,5-trialkyl ortrialkoxyphenylacetylene, n-BuLi-2,4,6-trialkyl- ortrialkoxyphenylacetylene, n-BuLi-5-alkylthiophenylacetylene,n-BuLi-2,4,5- or 2,4,6-trifluorophenylacetylene), followed by SnCl₂-HCl.Preferred solvents for step g) include for example Et₂O, THF, dioxane ormixtures thereof. The reaction temperature in step g) can be varieddepending on the solvent and the reagents. Suitable temperatures aree.g. 0° C. or 23° C.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reduction ofanhydride 2 to lactone 4 is carried out in one step (a1).

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the oxidationof diol 3 to lactol 5b is carried out in one step (a3), very preferablyusing 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX).[17]

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, thedehydration of bis-cycloadduct 7 (step f) is carried out in a sealedreactor vessel at elevated temperature and pressure, rather than in amicrowave reactor.

The process according to the present invention has been described abovefor the preparation of1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-6,13-bis(trialkylsilylethynyl) pentacene 9.However, it is also possible to prepare other 1,4,8,11-substitutedbis(trialkylethynyl)pentacenes, like those of formula Ia shown below, or1,4,8,11-substituted bis(arylethynyl)-pentacenes, like those of formulaIb shown below. This has been made possible by using the novel route ofthe present invention, due to the issue of the dicarboxyaldehydeintermediate.

The compounds obtainable or obtained by the process according to thepresent invention, and the novel compounds claimed in this invention,are preferably selected of formula I:

wherein

-   X is SiR⁵R⁶R⁷ or Ar,-   R¹⁻⁷ are identical or different carbyl or hydrocarbyl groups,-   Ar is in each occurrence independently of one another an optionally    substituted aryl or heteroaryl group.

Especially preferred are compounds of the following formulae:

wherein R¹⁻⁷ are as defined in formula I and Ar¹ and Ar² are identicalor different, preferably identical, aromatic or heteroaromatic ringsystems.

Preferred groups Ar^(1,2) are 4-substituted-phenyl or2,4,6-trisubstituted-phenyl, very preferably 4-alkylphenyl or2,4,6-trialkylphenyl.

R¹⁻⁴ are identical or different carbyl or hydrocarbyl groups, preferablyselected from straight-chain or branched C₁₋₁₂ alkyl, fluoroalkyl oralkoxy, F, Cl, cyano, most preferably straight-chain C₁₋₁₂ alkyl,especially preferably methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl,heptyl, octyl, or F.

R⁵⁻⁷ are identical or different carbyl or hydrocarbyl groups, preferablyselected from straight-chain or branched C₁₋₁₂ alkyl. Most preferablySiR⁵R⁶R⁷ is selected from tert-butyldimethylsilyl (R⁵=R⁶=Me, R⁷=t-Bu),trimethylsilyl (R⁵=R⁶=R⁷=Me), triisopropylsilyl (R⁵=R⁶=R⁷=i-Pr), ortriethylsilyl (R⁵=R⁶=R⁷=Et).

The term “carbyl group” as used above and below denotes any monovalentor multivalent organic radical moiety which comprises at least onecarbon atom either without any non-carbon atoms (like for example—C≡C—), or optionally combined with at least one non-carbon atom such asN, O, S, P, Si, Se, As, Te or Ge (for example carbonyl etc.). The term“hydrocarbyl group” denotes a carbyl group that does additionallycontain one or more H atoms and optionally contains one or more heteroatoms like for example N, O, S, P, Si, Se, As, Te or Ge.

A carbyl or hydrocarbyl group comprising a chain of 3 or more C atomsmay also be straight-chain, branched and/or cyclic, including spiroand/or fused rings.

Preferred carbyl and hydrocarbyl groups include alkyl, alkoxy,alkylcarbonyl, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylcarbonyloxy and alkoxycarbonyloxy,each of which is optionally substituted and has 1 to 40, preferably 1 to25, very preferably 1 to 18 C atoms, furthermore optionally substitutedaryl or aryloxy having 6 to 40, preferably 6 to 25 C atoms, furthermorealkylaryloxy, arylcarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, arylcarbonyloxy andaryloxycarbonyloxy, each of which is optionally substituted and has 6 to40, preferably 7 to 40 C atoms, wherein all these groups optionallycontain one or more hetero atoms, especially selected from N, O, S, P,Si, Se, As, Te and Ge.

The carbyl or hydrocarbyl group may be a saturated or unsaturatedacyclic group, or a saturated or unsaturated cyclic group. Unsaturatedacyclic or cyclic groups are preferred, especially aryl, alkenyl andalkynyl groups (especially ethynyl). Where the C₁-C₄₀ carbyl orhydrocarbyl group is acyclic, the group may be straight-chain orbranched. The C₁-C₄₀ carbyl or hydrocarbyl group includes for example: aC₁-C₄₀ alkyl group, a C₂-C₄₀ alkenyl group, a C₂-C₄₀ alkynyl group, aC₃-C₄₀ alkyl group, a C₄-C₄₀ alkyldienyl group, a C₄-C₄₀ polyenyl group,a C₆-C₁₈ aryl group, a C₆-C₄₀ alkylaryl group, a C₆-C₄₀ arylalkyl group,a C₄-C₄₀ cycloalkyl group, a C₄-C₄₀ cycloalkenyl group, and the like.Preferred among the foregoing groups are a C₁-C₂₀ alkyl group, a C₂-C₂₀alkenyl group, a C₂-C₂₀ alkynyl group, a C₃-C₂₀ alkyl group, a C₄-C₂₀alkyldienyl group, a C₆-C₁₂ aryl group and a C₄-C₂₀ polyenyl group,respectively. Also included are combinations of groups having carbonatoms and groups having hetero atoms, like e.g. an alkynyl group,preferably ethynyl, that is substituted with a silyl group, preferably atrialkylsilyl group.

Aryl and heteroaryl preferably denote a mono-, bi- or tricyclic aromaticor heteroaromatic group with up to 25 C atoms that may also comprisecondensed rings and is optionally substituted with one or more groups L,wherein L is F, Cl, Br, I or an alkyl, alkoxy, alkylcarbonyl oralkoxycarbonyl group with 1 to 12 C atoms, wherein one or more H atomsmay be replaced by F or Cl.

Especially preferred aryl and heteroaryl groups are phenyl in which, inaddition, one or more CH groups may be replaced by N, naphthalene,thiophene, selenophene thienothiophene, dithienothiophene, fluorene andoxazole, all of which can be unsubstituted, mono- or polysubstitutedwith L as defined above.

In formula I R¹⁻⁷ preferably denotes straight chain, branched or cyclicalkyl with 1 to 20 C-atoms, which is unsubstituted or mono- orpolysubstituted by F, Cl, Br or I, and wherein one or more non-adjacentCH₂ groups are optionally replaced, in each case independently from oneanother, by —O—, —S—, —NR⁰—, —SiR⁰R⁰⁰, —CY¹═CY²— or —C≡C— in such amanner that O and/or S atoms are not linked directly to one another, ordenotes optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl preferably having 1 to30 C-atoms, with

-   R⁰ and R⁰⁰ being independently of each other H or alkyl with 1 to 12    C-atoms,-   Y¹ and Y² being independently of each other H, F, Cl or CN,

If R¹⁻⁷ is an alkyl or alkoxy radical, i.e. where the terminal CH₂ groupis replaced by —O—, this may be straight-chain or branched. It ispreferably straight-chain, has 2 to 8 carbon atoms and accordingly ispreferably ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, ethoxy,propoxy, butoxy, pentoxy, hexyloxy, heptoxy, or octoxy, furthermoremethyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl, tridecyl, tetradecyl,pentadecyl, nonoxy, decoxy, undecoxy, dodecoxy, tridecoxy ortetradecoxy, for example. Especially preferred are n-hexyl andn-dodecyl.

If R¹⁻⁷ is an alkyl group wherein one or more CH₂ groups are replaced by—CH═CH—, this may be straight-chain or branched. It is preferablystraight-chain, has 2 to 12 C-atoms and accordingly is preferably vinyl,prop-1-, or prop-2-enyl, but-1-, 2- or but-3-enyl, pent-1-, 2-, 3- orpent-4-enyl, hex-1-, 2-, 3-, 4- or hex-5-enyl, hept-1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-or hept-6-enyl, oct-1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or oct-7-enyl, non-1-, 2-,3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7- or non-8-enyl, dec-1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8- ordec-9-enyl, undec-1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9- or undec-10-enyl,dodec-1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, -9, -10 or undec-11-enyl. Thealkenyl group may comprise C═C-bonds with E- or Z-configuration or amixture thereof.

If R¹⁻⁷ is oxaalkyl, i.e. where one CH₂ group is replaced by —O—, ispreferably straight-chain 2-oxapropyl (=methoxymethyl),2-(=ethoxymethyl) or 3-oxabutyl (=2-methoxyethyl), 2-, 3-, or4-oxapentyl, 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-oxahexyl, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-oxaheptyl,2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-oxaoctyl, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7- or 8-oxanonylor 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-,7-, 8- or 9-oxadecyl, for example.

If R¹⁻⁷ is thioalkyl, i.e where one CH₂ group is replaced by —S—, ispreferably straight-chain thiomethyl (—SCH₃), 1-thioethyl (—SCH₂CH₃),1-thiopropyl (=—SCH₂CH₂CH₃), 1-(thiobutyl), 1-(thiopentyl),1-(thiohexyl), 1-(thioheptyl), 1-(thiooctyl), 1-(thiononyl),1-(thiodecyl), 1-(thioundecyl) or 1-(thiododecyl), wherein preferablythe CH₂ group adjacent to the sp² hybridised vinyl carbon atom isreplaced.

If R¹⁻⁷ is fluoroalkyl, it is preferably straight-chain perfluoroalkylwherein i is an integer from 1 to 15, in particular CF₃, C₂F₅, C₃F₇,C₄F₉, C₅F₁₁, C₆F₁₃, C₇F₁₅ or C₈F₁₇, very preferably C₆F₁₃.

Very preferably R¹⁻⁷ is selected from C₁-C₂₀-alkyl that is optionallysubstituted with one or more fluorine atoms, C₁-C₂₀-alkenyl,C₁-C₂₀-alkynyl, C₁-C₂₀-alkoxy, C₁-C₂₀-thioalkyl, C₁-C₂₀-silyl,C₁-C₂₀-amino or C₁-C₂₀-fluoroalkyl, in particular from alkenyl, alkynyl,alkoxy, thioalkyl or fluoroalkyl, all of which are straight-chain andhave 1 to 12, preferably 5 to 12 C-atoms, most preferably pentyl, hexyl,heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl or dodecyl.

—CY¹═CY²— is preferably —CH═CH—, —CF═CF— or —CH═C(CN)—.

R⁵⁻⁷ are preferably identical or different groups selected from aC₁-C₄₀-alkyl group, preferably C₁-C₄-alkyl, most preferably methyl,ethyl, n-propyl or isopropyl, a C₆-C₄₀-aryl group, preferably phenyl, aC₆-C₄₀-arylalkyl group, a C₁-C₄₀-alkoxy group, or a C₆-C₄₀-arylalkyloxygroup, wherein all these groups are optionally substituted for examplewith one or more halogen atoms. Preferably, R⁶⁻⁷ are each independentlyselected from optionally substituted C₁₋₁₂-alkyl, more preferablyC₁₋₄-alkyl, most preferably C₁₋₃-alkyl, for example isopropyl, andoptionally substituted C₆₋₁₀-aryl, preferably phenyl. Further preferredis a silyl group of formula —SiR⁵R⁶ wherein R⁶ forms a cyclic silylalkyl group together with the Si atom, preferably having 1 to 8 C atoms.

In one preferred embodiment R⁵⁻⁷ are identical groups, for exampleidentical, optionally substituted, alkyl groups, as intriisopropylsilyl. Very preferably R⁵⁻⁷ are identical, optionallysubstituted C₁₋₁₀, more preferably C₁₋₄, most preferably C₁₋₃ alkylgroups. A preferred alkyl group in this case is isopropyl.

Preferred groups —SiR⁵R⁶R⁷ include, without limitation, trimethylsilyl,triethylsilyl, tripropylsilyl, dimethylethylsilyl, diethylmethylsilyl,dimethylpropylsilyl, dimethylisopropylsilyl, dipropylmethylsilyl,diisopropylmethylsilyl, dipropylethylsilyl, diisopropylethylsilyl,diethylisopropylsilyl, triisopropylsilyl, trimethoxysilyl,triethoxysilyl, triphenylsilyl, diphenylisopropylsilyl,diisopropylphenylsilyl, diphenylethylsilyl, diethylphenylsilyl,diphenylmethylsilyl, triphenoxysilyl, dimethylmethoxysilyl,dimethylphenoxysilyl, methylmethoxyphenylsilyl, etc., wherein the alkyl,aryl or alkoxy group is optionally substituted.

The compounds according to the present invention are useful as chargetransport, semiconducting, electrically conducting, photoconducting orlight emitting materials in optical, electrooptical, electronic,electroluminescent or photoluminescent components or devices.

Especially preferred devices are OFETs, TFTs, ICs, logic circuits,capacitors, RFID tags, OLEDs, OLETs, OPVs, solar cells, laser diodes,photoconductors, photodetectors, electrophotographic devices,electrophotographic recording devices, organic memory devices, sensordevices, charge injection layers, Schottky diodes, planarising layers,antistatic films, conducting substrates and conducting patterns. Inthese devices, the polymers of the present invention are typicallyapplied as thin layers or films.

OFETs where an organic semiconducting (OSC) material is arranged as athin film between a gate dielectric and a drain and a source electrode,are generally known, and are described for example in U.S. Pat. No.5,892,244, WO 00/79617, U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,804, and in the referencescited in the background section. Due to the advantages, like low costproduction using the solubility properties of the polymers according tothe invention and thus the processibility of large surfaces, preferredapplications of these FETs are such as integrated circuitry, TFTdisplays and security applications.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a formulation comprising oneor more substituted pentacene compounds as described above and below andone or more organic solvents.

Examples of suitable and preferred organic solvents include, withoutlimitation, dichloromethane, trichloromethane, monochlorobenzene,o-dichlorobenzene, tetrahydrofuran, anisole, morpholine, toluene,o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene, 1,4-dioxane, acetone, methylethylketone,1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane,ethyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide,dimethylsulfoxide, tetraline, decaline, indane, methyl benzoate, ethylbenzoate, mesitylene and/or mixtures thereof.

The concentration of the substituted pentacene compounds in theformulation is preferably from 1% to 10% by weight, more preferably from1% to 5% by weight.

Optionally, the formulation also comprises one or more organic binders,to adjust the rheological properties, as described for example in WO2005/055248 A2.

Preferred polymeric binders include, without limitation, polystyrene,poly(α-methylstyrene), poly(α-vinylnaphtalene), poly(vinyltoluene),polyethylene, cis-polybutadiene, polypropylene, polyisoprene,poly(4-methyl-1-pentene), poly(4-methylstyrene),poly(chorotrifluoroethylene), poly(2-methyl-1,3-butadiene),poly(p-xylylene), poly(α-α-α′-α′ tetrafluoro-p-xylylene),poly[1,1-(2-methyl propane)bis(4-phenyl)carbonate], poly(cyclohexylmethacrylate), poly(chlorostyrene), poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenyleneether), polyisobutylene, poly(vinyl cyclohexane), poly(vinylcinnamate),poly(4-vinylbiphenyl), poly(1,3-butadiene), polyphenylene. Furtherpreferred are copolymers, including regular, random or block copolymerslike poly(ethylene/tetrafluoroethylene),poly(ethylene/chlorotrifluoro-ethylene), fluorinated ethylene/propylenecopolymer, polystyrene-co-α-methylstyrene, ethylene/ethyl acrylatecopolymer, poly(styrene/10% butadiene), poly(styrene/15% butadiene),poly(styrene/2,4 dimethylstyrene) or the Topas® series (from Ticona).

Further preferred are polymeric semiconducting binders likepolytriarylamine (PTAA), polythiophene, polyfluorene,polyspirobifluorene, wherein the monomer units are optionallysubstituted with carbyl or hydrocarbyl groups.

The proportions of binder to polyacene in the formulation are typically20:1 to 1:20 by weight, preferably 10:1 to 1:10 more preferably 5:1 to1:5, still more preferably 3:1 to 1:3 further preferably 2:1 to 1:2 andespecially 1:1

The total solids content (i.e. substituted pentacene compound andbinder) in the formulation is preferably from 0.1 to 15% by weight, morepreferably from 0.5 to 10% by weight.

After the appropriate mixing and ageing, solutions are evaluated as oneof the following categories: complete solution, borderline solution orinsoluble. The contour line is drawn to outline the solubilityparameter-hydrogen bonding limits dividing solubility and insolubility.‘Complete’ solvents falling within the solubility area can be chosenfrom literature values such as published in “Crowley, J. D., Teague, G.S. Jr and Lowe, J. W. Jr., Journal of Paint Technology, 38, No 496, 296(1966)”. Solvent blends may also be used and can be identified asdescribed in “Solvents, W. H. Ellis, Federation of Societies forCoatings Technology, p 9-10, 1986”. Such a procedure may lead to a blendof ‘non’ solvents that will dissolve both the compounds of the presentinvention, although it is desirable to have at least one true solvent ina blend.

The compounds according to the present invention can also be used inpatterned OSC layers in the devices as described above and below. Forapplications in modern microelectronics it is generally desirable togenerate small structures or patterns to reduce cost (more devices/unitarea), and power consumption. Patterning of thin layers comprising acompound according to the present invention can be carried out forexample by photolithography, electron beam lithography or laserpatterning.

For use as thin layers in electronic or electrooptical devices thecompounds and formulations of the present invention may be deposited byany suitable method. Liquid coating of devices is more desirable thanvacuum deposition techniques. Solution deposition methods are especiallypreferred. The formulations of the present invention enable the use of anumber of liquid coating techniques. Preferred deposition techniquesinclude, without limitation, dip coating, spin coating, ink jetprinting, letter-press printing, screen printing, doctor blade coating,roller printing, reverse-roller printing, offset lithography printing,flexographic printing, web printing, spray coating, brush coating or padprinting. Ink-jet printing is particularly preferred as it allows highresolution layers and devices to be prepared.

Selected formulations of the present invention may be applied toprefabricated device substrates by ink jet printing or microdispensing.Preferably industrial piezoelectric print heads such as but not limitedto those supplied by Aprion, Hitachi-Koki, InkJet Technology, On TargetTechnology, Picojet, Spectra, Trident, Xaar may be used to apply theorganic semiconductor layer to a substrate. Additionally semi-industrialheads such as those manufactured by Brother, Epson, Konica, SeikoInstruments Toshiba TEC or single nozzle microdispensers such as thoseproduced by Microdrop and Microfab may be used.

In order to be applied by ink jet printing or microdispensing, thecompounds should be first dissolved in a suitable solvent. Solvents mustfulfil the requirements stated above and must not have any detrimentaleffect on the chosen print head. Additionally, solvents should haveboiling points >100° C., preferably >140° C. and more preferably >150°C. in order to prevent operability problems caused by the solutiondrying out inside the print head. Apart from the solvents methonedabove, suitable solvents include substituted and non-substituted xylenederivatives, di-C₁₋₂-alkyl formamide, substituted and non-substitutedanisoles and other phenol-ether derivatives, substituted heterocyclessuch as substituted pyridines, pyrazines, pyrimidines, pyrrolidinones,substituted and non-substituted N,N-di-C₁₋₂-alkylanilines and otherfluorinated or chlorinated aromatics.

A preferred solvent for depositing a compound according to the presentinvention by ink jet printing comprises a benzene derivative which has abenzene ring substituted by one or more substituents wherein the totalnumber of carbon atoms among the one or more substituents is at leastthree. For example, the benzene derivative may be substituted with apropyl group or three methyl groups, in either case there being at leastthree carbon atoms in total. Such a solvent enables an ink jet fluid tobe formed comprising the solvent with the compound, which reduces orprevents clogging of the jets and separation of the components duringspraying. The solvent(s) may include those selected from the followinglist of examples: dodecylbenzene, 1-methyl-4-tert-butylbenzene,terpineol limonene, isodurene, terpinolene, cymene, diethylbenzene. Thesolvent may be a solvent mixture, that is a combination of two or moresolvents, each solvent preferably having a boiling point >100° C., morepreferably >140° C. Such solvent(s) also enhance film formation in thelayer deposited and reduce defects in the layer.

The ink jet fluid (that is mixture of solvent, binder and semiconductingcompound) preferably has a viscosity at 20° C. of 1-100 mPa·s, morepreferably 1-50 mPa·s and most preferably 1-30 mPa·s.

The compounds or formulations according to the present invention canadditionally comprise one or more further components like for examplesurface-active compounds, lubricating agents, wetting agents, dispersingagents, hydrophobing agents, adhesive agents, flow improvers, defoamingagents, deaerators, diluents which may be reactive or non-reactive,auxiliaries, colourants, dyes or pigments, sensitizers, stabilizers,nanoparticles or inhibitors.

An OFET device according to the present invention preferably comprises:

-   -   a source electrode (4),    -   a drain electrode (4),    -   a gate electrode (2),    -   an organic semiconducting (OSC) layer (5),    -   one or more gate insulator layers (3),    -   optionally a substrate (1),        wherein the OSC layer comprises one or more substituted        pentacene compounds according to the present invention.

The gate, source and drain electrodes and the insulating andsemiconducting layer in the OFET device may be arranged in any sequence,provided that the source and drain electrode are separated from the gateelectrode by the insulating layer, the gate electrode and thesemiconductor layer both contact the insulating layer, and the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode both contact the semiconducting layer.The OFET device can be a top gate device or a bottom gate device.Suitable structures and manufacturing methods of an OFET device, andsuitable methods for measuring the device performance are known to theskilled in the art and are described in the literature, for example inWO 03/052841 A1 and WO 2005/055248 A2.

FIG. 5 exemplarily depicts a bottom gate (BG), bottom contact (BC) OFETdevice according to the present invention, comprising a substrate (1), agate electrode (2), a dielectric layer (3), source and drain electrodes(4), and an OSC layer (5).

Such a device can be prepared by a process comprising the steps ofapplying a gate electrode (2) on a substrate (1), applying a dielectriclayer (3) on top of the gate electrode (2) and the substrate (1),applying source and drain electrodes (4) on top of the dielectric layer(3), and applying an OSC layer (5) on top of the electrodes (4) and thedielectric layer (3).

FIG. 6 exemplarily depicts a top gate (TG) OFET device according to thepresent invention, comprising a substrate (1), source and drainelectrodes (4), an OSC layer (5), a dielectric layer (3), and a gateelectrode (2).

Such a device can be prepared by a process comprising the steps ofapplying source and drain electrodes (4) on a substrate (1), applying anOSC layer (5) on top of the electrodes (4) and the substrate (1),applying a dielectric layer (3) on top of the OSC layer (5), andapplying a gate electrode (2) on top of the dielectric layer (3).

An OPV device according to the present invention preferably comprises:

-   -   a low work function electrode (for example Aluminum),    -   a high work function electrode (for example ITO), one of which        is transparent,    -   a bilayer of consisting of a hole transporting and an electron        transporting material; the bilayer can exist as two distinct        layers, or a blended mixture (see for example Coakley, K. M. and        McGehee, M. D. Chem. Mater. 2004, 16, 4533),    -   an optional conducting polymer layer (such as for example        PEDOT:PSS) to modify the work function of the high work function        electrode to provide an ohmic contact for the hole,    -   an optional coating on the high workfunction electrode (such as        LiF) to provide an ohmic contact for electrons.

The hole transporting material in the blend exists of one of thecompounds of the present invention. The electron transporting materialcan be an inorganic material such as zinc oxide or cadmium selenide, oran organic material such as a fullerene derivate (for example PCBM,[(6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester] or a polymer see forexample Coakley, K. M. and McGehee, M. D. Chem. Mater. 2004, 16, 4533).If the bilayer is a blend an optional annealing step may be necessary tooptimize device performance.

In security applications, OFETs and other devices with semiconductingmaterials according to the present invention, like transistors ordiodes, can be used for RFID tags or security markings to authenticateand prevent counterfeiting of documents of value like banknotes, creditcards or ID cards, national ID documents, licenses or any product withmonetry value, like stamps, tickets, shares, cheques etc.

Alternatively, the materials according to the invention can be used inorganic light emitting devices or diodes (OLEDs), e.g., in displayapplications or as backlight of e.g. liquid crystal displays. CommonOLEDs are realized using multilayer structures. An emission layer isgenerally sandwiched between one or more electron-transport and/orhole-transport layers. By applying an electric voltage electrons andholes as charge carriers move towards the emission layer where theirrecombination leads to the excitation and hence luminescence of thelumophor units contained in the emission layer. The inventive compounds,materials and films may be employed in one or more of the chargetransport layers and/or in the emission layer, corresponding to theirelectrical and/or optical properties. Furthermore their use within theemission layer is especially advantageous, if the compounds, materialsand films according to the invention show electroluminescent propertiesthemselves or comprise electroluminescent groups or compounds. Theselection, characterization as well as the processing of suitablemonomeric, oligomeric and polymeric compounds or materials for the usein OLEDs is generally known by a person skilled in the art, see, e.g.,Meerholz, Synthetic Materials, 111-112, 2000, 31-34, Alcala, J. Appl.Phys., 88, 2000, 7124-7128 and the literature cited therein.

According to another use, the materials according to the presentinvention, especially those which show photoluminescent properties, maybe employed as materials of light sources, e.g., of display devices suchas described in EP 0 889 350 A1 or by C. Weder et al., Science, 279,1998, 835-837.

A further aspect of the invention relates to both the oxidised andreduced form of the polymers according to this invention. Either loss orgain of electrons results in formation of a highly delocalised ionicform, which is of high conductivity. This can occur on exposure tocommon dopants. Suitable dopants and methods of doping are known tothose skilled in the art, e.g. from EP 0 528 662, U.S. Pat. No.5,198,153 or WO 96/21659.

The doping process typically implies treatment of the semiconductormaterial with an oxidating or reducing agent in a redox reaction to formdelocalised ionic centres in the material, with the correspondingcounterions derived from the applied dopants. Suitable doping methodscomprise for example exposure to a doping vapor in the atmosphericpressure or at a reduced pressure, electrochemical doping in a solutioncontaining a dopant, bringing a dopant into contact with thesemiconductor material to be thermally diffused, and ion-implantantionof the dopant into the semiconductor material.

When electrons are used as carriers, suitable dopants are for examplehalogens (e.g., I₂, Cl₂, Br₂, ICI, ICI₃, IBr and IF), Lewis acids (e.g.,PF₅, AsF₅, SbF₅, BF₃, BCl₃, SbCl₅, BBr₃ and SO₃), protonic acids,organic acids, or amino acids (e.g., HF, HCl, HNO₃, H₂SO₄, HClO₄, FSO₃Hand ClSO₃H), transition metal compounds (e.g., FeCl₃, FeOCl, Fe(ClO₄)₃,Fe(4-CH₃C₆H₄SO₃)₃, TiCl₄, ZrCl₄, HfCl₄, NbF₅, NbCl₅, TaCl₅, MoF₅, MoCl₅,WF₅, WCl₆, UF₆ and LnCl₃ (wherein Ln is a lanthanoid), anions (e.g.,Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻, HSO₄ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, NO₃ ⁻, ClO₄ ⁻, BF₄ ⁻, PF₆ ⁻, AsF₆ ⁻, SbF₆⁻, FeCl₄ ⁻, Fe(CN)₆ ³⁻, and anions of various sulfonic acids, such asaryl-SO₃ ⁻). When holes are used as carriers, examples of dopants arecations (e.g., H⁺, Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺ and Cs⁺), alkali metals (e.g., Li,Na, K, Rb, and Cs), alkaline-earth metals (e.g., Ca, Sr, and Ba), O₂,XeOF₄, (NO₂ ⁺)(SbF₆ ⁻), (NO₂ ⁺) (SbCl₆ ⁻), (NO₂ ⁺)(BF₄ ⁻), AgClO₄,H₂IrCl₆, La(NO₃)₃.6H₂O, FSO₂OOSO₂F, Eu, acetylcholine, R₄N⁺, (R is analkyl group), R₄P⁺ (R is an alkyl group), R₆As⁺ (R is an alkyl group),and R₃S⁺ (R is an alkyl group).

The conducting form of the polymers of the present invention can be usedas an organic “metal” in applications including, but not limited to,charge injection layers and ITO planarising layers in OLED applications,films for flat panel displays and touch screens, antistatic films,printed conductive substrates, patterns or tracts in electronicapplications such as printed circuit boards and condensers.

According to another use, the materials according to the presentinvention can be used alone or together with other materials in or asalignment layers in LCD or OLED devices, as described for example in US2003/0021913. The use of charge transport compounds according to thepresent invention can increase the electrical conductivity of thealignment layer. When used in an LCD, this increased electricalconductivity can reduce adverse residual dc effects in the switchableLCD cell and suppress image sticking or, for example in ferroelectricLCDs, reduce the residual charge produced by the switching of thespontaneous polarisation charge of the ferroelectric LCs. When used inan OLED device comprising a light emitting material provided onto thealignment layer, this increased electrical conductivity can enhance theelectroluminescence of the light emitting material. The compounds ormaterials according to the present invention having mesogenic or liquidcrystalline properties can form oriented anisotropic films as describedabove, which are especially useful as alignment layers to induce orenhance alignment in a liquid crystal medium provided onto saidanisotropic film. The materials according to the present invention mayalso be combined with photoisomerisable compounds and/or chromophoresfor use in or as photoalignment layers, as described in US 2003/0021913.

According to another use the materials according to the presentinvention, especially their water-soluble derivatives (for example withpolar or ionic side groups) or ionically doped forms, can be employed aschemical sensors or materials for detecting and discriminating DNAsequences. Such uses are described for example in L. Chen, D. W.McBranch, H. Wang, R. Helgeson, F. Wudl and D. G. Whitten, Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1999, 96, 12287; D. Wang, X. Gong, P. S. Heeger, F.Rininsland, G. C. Bazan and A. J. Heeger, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.2002, 99, 49; N. DiCesare, M. R. Pinot, K. S. Schanze and J. R.Lakowicz, Langmuir 2002, 18, 7785; D. T. McQuade, A. E. Pullen, T. M.Swager, Chem. Rev. 2000, 100, 2537.

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used herein pluralforms of the terms herein are to be construed as including the singularform and vice versa.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the words“comprise” and “contain” and variations of the words, for example“comprising” and “comprises”, mean “including but not limited to”, andare not intended to (and do not) exclude other components.

It will be appreciated that variations to the foregoing embodiments ofthe invention can be made while still falling within the scope of theinvention. Each feature disclosed in this specification, unless statedotherwise, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same,equivalent or similar purpose. Thus, unless stated otherwise, eachfeature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalentor similar features.

All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined inany combination, except combinations where at least some of suchfeatures and/or steps are mutually exclusive. In particular, thepreferred features of the invention are applicable to all aspects of theinvention and may be used in any combination. Likewise, featuresdescribed in non-essential combinations may be used separately (not incombination).

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The invention is described in more detail by the following examples,which are illustrative only and do not limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1

1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)pentacene (9) isprepared as described below.

1,7-Dimethyl-4,10-dioxa-tricyclo[5.2.1.0^(2,6)]dec-8-ene-3,5-dione 1

A 100 mL 3-necked RBF is fitted with a mechanical stirrer, a condenserand a subaseal, and placed under nitrogen. Maleic anhydride (25.5 g,0.260 mol) and anhydrous diethyl ether (35 mL) are charged to the RBF.2,5-Dimethylfuran (27.7 mL, 0.260 mol) is added via syringe over aperiod of 20 mins to the suspension at 22° C. The reaction mixture isstirred for 18 h. The product is filtered off, washed with cold diethylether (100 mL), and dried under vacuum to yield the product 1 as a creamsolid (36.32 g, 72%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ6.35 (s, 2H), 3.16 (s,2H), 1.76 (s, 6H).

4,7-Dimethyl-isobenzofuran-1,3-dione 2

1,7-Dimethyl-4,10-dioxa-tricyclo[5.2.1.0]dec-8-ene-3,5-dione 1 (30.0 g,0.150 mol) is added slowly in portions to stirred 98% sulfuric acid (300mL) in a 1 L flange flask cooled to −5° C. using a salt-ice bath—notethat the temperature is kept below 0° C. during the addition. Themixture is stirred for 30 mins at −5° C. and then allowed to warm up to22° C. The mixture is carefully poured onto crushed ice (1.5 L). Thecream precipitate that formed is filtered off and washed with ice water.The precipitate is dissolved in a 5% aq. sodium hydroxide solution (225mL) with stirring. Glacial acetic acid (20 mL) is added slowly to thestirred solution. A cream precipitate forms and this is filtered off anddiscarded. 37% Hydrochloric acid (50 mL) is added to the stirredfiltrate and the mixture is stirred for 2 h during which time aprecipitate is formed. The precipitate is filtered off and dried in thevacuum oven overnight to yield the product as a cream solid (11.13 g,41%). The filtrate is allowed to stand overnight during which timefurther product precipitated out. The second crop of precipitate isfiltered off and dried under vacuum to yield the product 2 as a creamsolid (5.79 g, 21%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 7.18 (s, 2H), 2.40 (s,6H).

1,2-Bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-dimethylbenzene 3

A 1 L 3-necked RBF is charged with a 1.0M lithium aluminium hydridesolution in tetrahydrofuran (175 mL, 0.175 mol) and anhydroustetrahydrofuran (100 mL) under nitrogen. The solution is cooled to −78°C. and a solution of1,7-dimethyl-4,10-dioxa-tricyclo[5.2.1.0^(2,6)]dec-8-ene-3,5-dione 2(12.3 g, 0.070 mol) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (150 mL) is added froma dropping funnel over a period of 30 minutes The reaction mixture isheated to reflux and stirred for 45 h. The reaction mixture is cooled to0° C. using an ice bath and 2M sodium hydroxide solution (20 mL) isslowly added dropwise. The mixture is allowed to warm up to 22° C. andthe precipitate is filtered off and washed thoroughly with diethyl etherand tetrahydrofuran. The filtrate is concentrated in vacuo.

Recrystallisation from ethyl acetate/petrol 40-60 (1/5) yielded theproduct 3 as colourless needles (9.70 g, 84%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ7.07 (s, 2H), 4.77 (s, 4H), 2.39 (s, 6H).

4,7-Dimethyl-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one 4

A 1 L 3-necked RBF is charged with1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-dimethyl-benzene 3 (22.05 g, 0.133 mol),activated 85% manganese(IV) oxide (135.69 g, 1.327 mol), 4 Å molecularsieves (12.00 g) and anhydrous dichloromethane (500 mL), and placedunder nitrogen. The reaction mixture is heated to reflux and stirred for22 h. The reaction mixture is filtered through Kieselguhr and washedthoroughly with dichloromethane. The filtrate is concentrated in vacuoto yield the product 4 as a cream solid (19.79 g, 92%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ 7.31 (d, 1H, ³J=7.5 Hz), 7.18 (d, 1H, ³J=7.5 Hz), 5.18 (s, 2H),2.65 (s, 3H), 2.29 (s, 3H); ¹³C-NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 171.7, 145.8,136.9, 134.5, 130.8, 129.3, 122.9, 68.3, 16.96, 16.91.

1-Methoxy-4,7-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran 5

A 1.0M solution of diisobutylaluminium hydride (115 mL, 0.115 mol) intoluene is added dropwise over a period of 30 mins to a stirred solutionof 4,7-dimethyl-3H-isobenzofuran-1-one 4 (18.66 g, 0.115 mol) inanhydrous toluene (250 mL) at −15° C. under nitrogen. Anhydrous diethylether (100 mL) is added and the reaction mixture is stirred 4 h at −50°C. The reaction mixture is removed from the cooling bath and diethylether (300 mL) is immediately added followed by saturated brine (200mL). The organic layer is separated and the aqueous layer isre-extracted with diethyl ether (200 mL). The combined organics aredried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to yield a creamsolid. The solid is dissolved in anhydrous methanol (400 mL) and borontrifluoride diethyl etherate (2.3 mL, 0.018 mol) is added at 0° C. andthe solution is stirred for 20 h at RT under nitrogen. The reactionmixture is poured into brine (200 mL) and extracted with petrol 40-60(2×200 mL). The combined extracts are washed with water (3×100 mL),dried over sodium sulphate, and concentrated in vacuo to yield theproduct 5 as a yellow oil (17.14 g, 84%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 7.03(q, 2H, ³J=7.5 Hz, 4.5 Hz), 6.20 (s, 1H), 5.15 (d, 1H, ³J=13.5 Hz), 4.98(d, 1H, ³J=13 Hz), 3.42 (s, 3H), 2.31 (s, 3H), 2.20 (s, 3H); ¹³C-NMR (75MHz, CDCl₃) δ 138.7, 135.3, 130.8, 130.2, 129.1, 128.3, 107.7, 72.2,54.0, 18.1, 17.5.

1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-5,14,7,12-diepoxy-5,7,12,14-octahydropentacene-6,13-dione7 via 4,7-Dimethyl-isobenzofuran 6

A 1.6M n-butylithium solution in hexanes (120 mL, 0.191 mol) is addeddropwise to a stirred solution of diisopropylamine (27 mL, 0.191 mol) inanhydrous petrol 40-60 (200 mL) at 0° C. under nitrogen. The lithiumdiisopropylamide solution is stirred at 0° C. for 30 mins and then addeddropwise to a stirred solution of1-methoxy-4,7-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran 5 (17.04 g, 0.096 mol)in anhydrous petrol 40-60 (500 mL) at 0° C. under nitrogen. The reactionmixture is allowed to warm to 22° C. and stirred for 3 h. Water (500 mL)is added to the reaction mixture and the organic layer is separated. Theaqueous layer is re-extracted with petrol 40-60 (200 mL). The combinedextracts are washed with water (2×200 mL) and dried over sodium sulfate.The solution of 4,7-dimethyl-isobenzofuran 6 in petroleum ether 40-60(ca. 800 mL) is charged to a 2 L 3-necked RBF under nitrogen and asolution of p-benzoquinone in tetrahydrofuran (100 mL) is added dropwiseat 22° C. The reaction mixture is stirred for 17 h. The solvents areremoved in vacuo. The solids are dissolved in a small volume oftetrahydrofuran and a large excess of petrol 40-60 is added toprecipitate the product. The crude product is filtered off, washed withpetrol 40-60, and dried under vacuum to yield a brown solid.Recrystallisation from dichloromethane yielded the product 7 as whitecrystals (5.54 g, 29%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ6.90 (s, 4H), 5.59 (m,4H), 2.47 (m, 4H), 2.22 (s, 12H); ¹³C-NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 205.4,141.2, 129.3, 127.8, 81.5, 51.0, 17.9.

1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-6,13-pentacenequinone 8

1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-5,14,7,12-diepoxy-5,7,12,14-octahydropentacene-6,13-dione7 (1.27 g, 3.17 mmol), sodium acetate (0.13 g, 1.53 mmol) and methanol(10 mL) are charged into a 20 mL microwave vial and heated in amicrowave reactor (Emrys Creator, Personal Chemistry Ltd.) at 160° C. (5mins). The precipitate that formed is filtered off, washed with coldmethanol, and dried under vacuum to yield the product 8 as a browncrystalline solid (0.98 g, 85%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ9.13 (s, 4H),7.43 (s, 4H), 2.85 (s, 12H); ¹³C-NMR not measurable due to lowsolubility.

1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-6,13-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)pentacene 9

A 3-necked 500 mL RBF is charged with triethylsilylacetylene (6.1 mL,34.11 mmol) and anhydrous diethyl ether (100 mL) under nitrogen. Thesolution is cooled to 0° C. and a solution of 2.5 M n-butyllithium inhexanes (12.4 mL, 31.01 mmol) is added dropwise. The reaction mixture isremoved from the ice-bath and stirred for 1 h at 22° C.1,4,8,11-Tetramethyl-6,13-pentacenequinone 8 (1.13 g, 3.10 mmol) isadded and the reaction mixture is stirred at 22° C. for 2 h. Anhydroustetrahydrofuran (100 mL) is added and the reaction mixture is stirredfor a further 18 h. A saturated solution of stannous(II) chloride in 10%HCl solution (20 mL) is added and the solution is stirred under nitrogenfor 30 mins. The reaction mixture is poured into water (300 mL) andextracted with dichloromethane (300 mL). The aqueous layer isre-extracted with dichloromethane (2×100 mL). The combined extracts aredried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo. The crude productis dissolved in a small volume of dichloromethane, acetone (100 mL) isadded, and the mixture is stirred for 30 mins. The solid is filteredoff, washed with cold acetone and methanol, and dried under vacuum toyield the product 9 as a dark blue solid (1.15 g, 61%): ¹H-NMR (300 MHz,CDCl₃) δ9.40 (s, 4H), 7.16 (s, 4H), 2.82 (s, 12H), 1.30 (t, 18H, ³J=8Hz), 0.94 (q, 12H, ³J=8 Hz); ¹³C-NMR (75 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 132.8, 132.4,130.1, 125.9, 123.2, 118.2, 107.6, 104.1, 19.6, 8.0, 4.8.

Example 2

A top gate OFET device as exemplarily shown in FIG. 6 is prepared asdescribed in WO 2005/055248 A2. Compound (9) of example 1 is dissolvedwith the binder material poly(alpha-methylsyrene) (1:1 ratio) at 4%total solids content in tetralin. The resulting solution is spin-coatedupon masked Pt/Pd patterned source/drain electrodes on a PEN substrate.A solution of the dielectric material Lisicon™ D139 (commerciallyavailable from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) is used as the gateinsulator layer. A gold gate contact is provided onto the coated anddried gate insulator layer by evaporation through a shadow mask.

The device performance is measured as described in WO 03/052841 A1. FIG.7 shows the transfer characteristics, mobility and on/off ratio of theOFET. The device shows high mobility and a high on/off ratio:

μ_(lin)=6.3 cm²/Vs (linear mobility)

I_(on)/I_(off)=7×10³ (current on/off ratio)

1. A process for preparing a 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted pentacenecomprising the following steps: a1) reducing a 4,7-disubstitutedisobenzofuran-1,3-dione (2) in the presence of a reducing agent to formthe 4,7-disubstituted 3H-isobenzofuran-1-one (4), or a2) oxidizing a1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-disubstituted benzene (3) in the presence ofan oxidizing agent to form a 4,7-disubstituted 3H-isobenzofuran-1-one(4), or a3) oxidizing a 1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-disubstituted benzene(3) in the presence of an oxidizing agent to form a 4,7-disubstituted1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran (5a), and, in case of step a1) orstep a2), b) reducing the product (4) of step a1) or a2) in the presenceof a reducing agent to form a 4,7-disubstituted1-hydroxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran (5a), and c) methylating the product(5a) of step a3) or b) to form a 4,7-disubstituted1-methoxy-1,3-dihydro-isobenzofuran (5b), d) eliminating the product(5b) of step c) in the presence of a base to form a 4,7-disubstitutedisobenzofuran (6), e) reacting the product (6) of step d) withp-benzoquinone by Diels-Alder cycloaddition to form a bis-cycloadduct(7), f) dehydrating the product (7) of step e) in the presence of a baseto form a 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted 6,13-pentacenequinone (8), and g)alkynating the product (8) of step f) with a monosubstituted metalacetylide to form a 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted 6,13-bis(1-substitutedethynyl)pentacene (9).
 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein theeduct (2) of step a1) and the educt (3) of steps a2) and a3) areprepared by the following steps: x1) reacting 2,5-disubstituted furanwith maleic anhydride by Diels-Alder cycloaddition to form a cycloadduct(1), x2) dehydrating the product (1) of step x1) in the presence of anacid to form a 4,7-disubstituted isobenzofuran-1,3-dione (2), and, incase of preparing (3), and x3) reducing the product (2) of step x2) inthe presence of a hydride reagent to form1,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3,6-disubstituted benzene (3).
 3. The processaccording to claim 1, wherein the 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstituted pentacene isselected of formula I

wherein X is SiR⁵R⁶R⁷ or Ar, R¹⁻⁷ are identical or different carbyl orhydrocarbyl groups, Ar is in each occurrence independently of oneanother an optionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl group.
 4. Theprocess according to claim 3, wherein the 1,4,8,11-tetrasubstitutedpentacene is selected from the following formulae:

wherein R¹⁻⁷ are identical or different carbyl or hydrocarbyl groups,and Ar¹ and Ar² are identical or different aromatic or heteroaromaticring systems.
 5. The process according to claim 4, wherein Ar¹ and Ar²are selected from 4-alkylphenyl or 2,4,6-trialkylphenyl.
 6. The processaccording to claim 3, wherein R¹⁻⁴ are selected from C₁₋₁₂ alkyl,fluoroalkyl or alkoxy, F, Cl or cyano.
 7. A compound obtained by theprocess according to claim 1, wherein the compound is of formula I:

wherein X is Ar, R¹⁻⁷ are identical or different carbyl or hydrocarbylgroups, Ar is in each occurrence independently of one another anoptionally substituted aryl or heteroaryl group.
 8. Formulationcomprising one or more compounds of claim 7 and one or more solvents. 9.Charge transport, semiconducting, electrically conducting,photocon-ducting or light emitting material or component comprising oneor more formulations according to claim
 8. 10. Optical, electrooptical,electronic, electroluminescent or photoluminescent component or devicecomprising one or more formulations-according to claim
 8. 11. Theformulation comprising one or more compounds of claim 7 and one or moreorganic binders, or precursors thereof, and optionally one or moresolvents.
 12. Charge transport, semiconducting, electrically conducting,photocon-ducting or light emitting material or component comprising oneor more formulations according to claim
 11. 13. Optical, electrooptical,electronic, electroluminescent or photoluminescent component or devicecomprising one or more formulations-according to claim
 11. 14. Chargetransport, semiconducting, electrically conducting, photocon-ducting orlight emitting material or component comprising one or more compoundsaccording to claim
 7. 15. Optical, electrooptical, electronic,electroluminescent or photoluminescent component or device comprisingone or more compounds according to claim
 7. 16. Component or deviceaccording to claim 15, wherein it is selected from electroopticaldisplays, LCDs, optical films, retarders, compensators, polarisers, beamsplitters, reflective films, alignment layers, colour filters,holographic elements, hot stamping foils, coloured images, decorative orsecurity markings, LC pigments, adhesives, non-linear optic (NLO)devices, optical information storage devices, electronic devices,organic semiconductors, organic field effect transistors (OFET),integrated circuits (IC), thin film transistors (TFT), Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) tags, organic light emitting diodes (OLED),organic light emitting transistors (OLET), electroluminescent displays,organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, organic solar cells (O-SC), organiclaser diodes (O-laser), organic integrated circuits (O-IC), lightingdevices, sensor devices, electrode materials, photoconductors,photodetectors, electrophotographic recording devices, capacitors,charge injection layers, Schottky diodes, planarising layers, antistaticfilms, conducting substrates, conducting patterns, photoconductors,electrophotographic applications, electrophotographic recording, organicmemory devices, biosensors, or biochips.